October 2021 – Fishermens News

From the Editor: Learning to Share

As some of the people who have been part of the commercial fishing industry on the West Coast for a length of time can attest to, it’s not just luck and Mother Nature that fishermen and women have to contend with while plying their trade, but sometimes furry and winged creatures, as well. And with so much competition for fish within the animal kingdom, particularly sockeye salmon returning from the ocean, sometimes there isn’t enough to go around for everyone, as some parties take more than their fair share. Such a scenario led to the Wuikinuxv (pronounced “Oh-wee-key-no”) Nation indigenous people on the coast of British Columbia teaming up with scientists to collaborate on how to strike a balance between the needs of people and the needs of grizzly bears when divvying up the annual supp...

Sonoma County Hatchery Coho Salmon Relocated to Avoid Heat Stress

Some 4,000 California hatchery juvenile coho salmon were relocated from the Warm Springs Fish Hatchery at Geyserville in July and August to a conservation facility at a high school in Petaluma for rearing until conditions improve. A spokesperson for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said on Aug. 23 that they are hopeful that drought and poor water conditions at Lake Sonoma will improve enough to allow them to truck the fish back to the hatchery before year’s end. Beginning in late spring, rising water temperatures at Warm Springs Hatchery increased the risk of heat stress and pathogen outbreaks. Scientists developed the relocation plan as a precaution to keep the hatchery coho safe. CDFW acting regional manager Stacy Sherman said the agency has a vested interest in seeing...

Bristol Bay Cannery Added to National Register of Historic Places

A historic salmon cannery on the shores of South Naknek in Bristol Bay, Alaska that operated almost continuously from 1895 to 2015, is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Diamond NN Cannery, established on the shores of South Naknek by the Alaska Packers Association and now owned by Trident Seafoods, began as a saltery in 1890. In 1895, the facility was converted into a cannery which went on to operate for over 100 years, according to Bob King, former dean of Alaska’s fisheries writers, who now lives in Juneau. Most of some other 60 canneries spread over the region for decades fell way short of that record of service, King said. “They fell apart, runs changed, the technology changes, they didn’t need as any canneries, but this is one of the earliest starting, l...

UFA Director Leaving to Become Lobbyist

United Fishermen of Alaska Executive Director Frances Leach is leaving the statewide umbrella group for commercial fishing entities at year’s end to begin a new career as a lobbyist in Juneau. Her new firm, CapitolCompass, is already signing up clients, but will not perform any actual work for them as a lobbyist or in strategic planning until after Jan. 1, 2022, she said. Her new website is www.capitolcompass.com. It’s a move that Leach, who grew up in a commercial fishing family in Southeast Alaska, said she is eager for. “I like being able to advocate, especially for things I am really passionate about,” she said. Even as a child she was always politically engaged she said, although she never wanted to be an actual politician. “I am very passionate about sustainability (in fisheri...

Salmonfest 2021 Proves a Pandemic Survivor

In the midst of a pandemic showing no sign of retreat, some 7,000 people gathered at Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula Fairgrounds in Ninilchik the first weekend in August to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Salmonfest, the three-day music festival supporting salmon related causes. The family-oriented festivities, with over 60 bands on four stages, featured a new main amphitheater with twice the space of the old one, to allow all those who wanted to space for social distancing while listening to top musicians, ranging from Greensky Bluegrass, Sarah Jarosz and The High Hawks to Con Brio and the Lowdown Brass Band. Along with vendors hawking art, jewelry, clothing, pottery and an eclectic array of food, Salmonfest 2021 featured the Salmon Causeway, where guests could learn from various conservat...

Kim Damon-Randall Named to Lead NOAA’s Protected Resources Office

Kim Damon-Randall, who has extensive experience in the conservation, recovery and management of protected species, has been named as the new director of NOAA’s Office of Protected Resources, succeeding Donna Wieting, who retired in March. Damon-Randall, who assumed her new post on Aug. 29, most recently served as deputy regional administrator of NOAA’s Greater Atlantic Regional Office. She has also led the Endangered Species Branch and served as assistant regional administrator for protected resources. Before joining NOAA in 2001, Damon-Randall worked on marine conservation and outreach at the Norwalk Maritime Aquarium and J.L. Scott Marine Education Center. She has a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in marine affairs, both from the University of Rhode Island. Sam Ra...

Alaska Symphony of Seafood Expands Competition

Expansion features are on tap for the 2021-22 Alaska Symphony of Seafood event, with salmon and whitefish product categories, in addition to retail, food service and beyond the plate. The annual competition, which began in 1994, was on hiatus in 2020 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic but is coming back in person under current health and safety guidelines, said Julie Decker, executive director of the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation. Product entries may be entered in all qualified categories and are eligible for multiple awards. The deadline for entries is Oct. 4. Special awards for this year’s competition include the grand prize, Seattle People’s Choice, Juneau People’s Choice and the new Bristol Bay Choice, sponsored by the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Associ...

North Pacific Fixed Gear Sablefish Fishery Recertified by Marine Stewardship Council

The Marine Stewardship Council has recertified the North Pacific fixed gear sablefish fishery as sustainable and for the first time and has extended the rigorous certification to the Northern Southeast Inside’s sablefish fishery, as well. “This recertification rightly acknowledges the hard work of Alaska fixed gear fishermen and fishery managers to maintain healthy fisheries in balance with marine ecosystems,” said Bob Alverson, director of the Fishing Vessel Owners Association. “MSC certification requires continued improvement in best fishing and management practices and our sablefish fisheries met all identified criteria.” The client for MSC halibut and sablefish is “Eat on the Wild Side,” a nonprofit of the FVOC and Deep Sea Fishermen’s Union. MSC first certified the North Pacific f...

Investigation Urged into Toxic Chemical Impacts on Coho Salmon

Fourteen members of Congress are calling for an investigation into effects of 6PPD-quinone, a highly toxic degradation product from tires and recycled rubber on endangered salmon, aquatic species and watersheds nationwide. The House of Representatives members told the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that the chemical may be contributing to widespread salmon mortality and would have profound implications for salmon recovery efforts. “Given the dismal trajectory of West Coast salmon populations, your agencies should be working with great urgency to gain a better understanding of this threat and to take any necessary actions to address it,” they said in an Aug. 19 letter. It was signed by California Representatives Jared Huffman, cha...

GAO Urged to Review Delay of Coast Guard Vessel Deliveries

A U.S. House committee looking into significant delivery delays of offshore patrol and polar security cutters to the U.S. Coast Guard has asked the Government Accountability Office to review the situation, as well as related budgetary issues. Given the significant budgetary commitment from Congress, the Department of Homeland Security and the Coast Guard have made for the Offshore Patrol Cutters program to date, continued oversight is necessary to ensure that the program does not continue to experience cost growth or additional schedule delays, according to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Committee chair Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-OR, and ranking member Rep. Sam Graves, R-MO, told GAO Comptroller General Gene Dodaro that the Offshore Patrol Cutter fleet, the larges...